Sir William Selby Church, 1st Baronet, (4 December 1837 – 28 April 1928) was a successful British physician to St Bartholomew's Hospital, president of the Royal College of Physicians from 1899 to 1905 and president of the Royal Society of Medicine from 1907 to 1909 and also in 1893 (having briefly served after the death of Sir Andrew Clark, 1st Baronet earlier that year). He is best remembered for his ability to direct policy of the associations he belonged to.

Biography

Church was born in 1837, the son of John Church. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, where he was captain of the cricket team and then went to Oxford University followed by a placement at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. He was appointed a Physician to the St Bartholomew's Hospital and to the Royal General Dispensary. He was elected president of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in 1893 to replace Sir Andrew Clark, who had died in office. Church was created a baronet, of Woodside in the Parish of Bishop's Hatfield in the County of Hertford, of Belshill in the Parish of

Bamborough Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census. The village is notable for the nearby Bamburgh Castle, a castle which was the seat ...

in the

County of Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

, and of

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

in the Borough of

Saint Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it mer ...

in the County of London, on 28 June 1901. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and invested as such by King Edward VII at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 24 October 1902. He received the honorary degree Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) from the Victoria University of Manchester in February 1902, in connection with the 50th jubilee celebrations of the establishment of the university. Two months later, in April 1902, he received the degree D.C.L. from the University of Durham. From 1908 to 1910, he was elected president of the Royal Society of Medicine, which the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society had become since his previous brief presidency in 1893. Church supported Sir William Osler in the founding of

The History of Medicine Society at The Royal Society of Medicine, London Founded by Sir William Osler in 1912, the History of Medicine Society (formally "section"), at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), London, is one of the oldest History of Medicine societies in the world and is one of the four founder committees ...

in 1912.

Family

Church married, in 1875, Sybil Constance Bigge, daughter of Charles J. Bigge. They had at least two sons, the eldest John William Church (b.1878) died before his father, and he was succeeded as 2nd Baronet by his second son Geoffrey Selby Church (1887–1979).

References

External links

* 1837 births 1928 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine People educated at Harrow School Alumni of the University of Oxford {{England-med-bio-stub